Cooper Flagg suffered a left ankle sprain on March 13, 2025, during the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, which forced him to leave the game. Fans wonder about his return to the NCAA Tournament.
Highlights
- Cooper Flagg suffered a left ankle injury in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on March 13, 2025, and he missed his last two matches.
- Duke’s head coach, Jon Scheyer, believes Cooper could return in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Cooper’s mother, Kelly, also expects him to play this weekend and mentions his recovery.
On March 15, 2025, the Duke Blue Devils secured thier 23rd ACC Tournament Championship, defeating the Louisville Cardinals by 73-62.
With the ACC Tournament victory, Duke has solidified its position as the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Duke will play its first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 22, 2025, and the opponent team has yet to be confirmed as of March 19, 2025.
Moreover, Blue Devils fans are also uncertain whether small forward Cooper Flagg will play the upcoming game.
Flagg suffered a left ankle sprain on March 13, 2025, in the ACC tournament quarterfinals against Georgia Tech.
The injury came at the 2:48 mark of the half after he came down with a defensive rebound following a missed 3-point attempt from Tech’s Jaeden Mustaf.
The close up of Cooper Flagg’s injury is nasty. Hope he’s okay. pic.twitter.com/4tdoQGzvvs
— College Basketball Content (@CBBcontent) March 13, 2025
However, while coming down with a rebound, Flagg appeared to the lad awkwardly, which caused him to roll his ankle.
Meanwhile, Flagg immediately grabbed his ankle as he hit the court floor.
Furthermore, it led to his exit from the game, and later, he was seen in a wheelchair. The situation has raised concerns about his availability for the upcoming games.
As of Wednesday, March 19, 2025, the Duke Blue Devils players for Friday’s game have yet to be updated. Similarly, there are some signs of possibility about Cooper Flagg’s return to the court.
Duke Coach Jon Scheyer Shares Optimism About Cooper Flagg’s March Madness Comeback
While Cooper Flagg is recovering from his ankle sprain, fans are waiting for updates about his health status and his return to March Madness.
On Sunday, March 16, after the NCAA Tournament bracket was revealed on ESPN’s “Bracketology,” Duke Coach Jon Scheyer updated Cooper’s status.
During the talk, Scheyer stated that Flagg is expected to play in the NCAA Tournament for Duke and that the goal is for him to return Friday, March 21, in the first round.
Duke men's basketball head coach Jon Scheyer says it’s “full steam ahead” for Cooper Flagg and the goal is to have him play in the tournament on Friday 💪 pic.twitter.com/vIRGFzljRy
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 17, 2025
Duke men’s basketball head coach Jon Scheyer has hinted about Cooper’s appearance in the tournament’s first game, stating,
We’re hoping he can start to progress starting tomorrow with doing some on-court work and then build up to where he can practice later in the week. Our goal is for Friday. No question about it. I know that’s his goal as well.
Jon Scheyer
On Thursday, March 13, after the injury, Scheyer told the reporters that the Duke star player was dealing with a sprained ankle after X-rays returned negative. He mentioned,
Cooper, he just came down, sprained his ankle, X-rays were negative, which is great. We just have to understand there’s going to be swelling and see how he recovers and how he goes from there.”
Jon Scheyer
Now, Coach seemed assured about Cooper Flagg’s comeback in the team for the NCAA Tournament’s March Madness.
Cooper Flagg’s Mother Reports No Alarm Over Injury
Flagg’s Mother, Kelly, isn’t sounding any alarms about his injury. She reports to People Magazine that the Duke star is “feeling great.”
On Tuesday, March 18, she told People magazine that Cooper is eager to return to the court for the NCAA Tournament. She states,
He’s literally here to win a national championship. That’s all he’s thinking about.
Kelly Flagg
Furthermore, Cooper Flagg’s mother expressed Cooper Flagg’s frustration for not being with the team when needed. She mentioned,
I know it was really hard for him to feel helpless and not be out there with his team. But I think in the long run, this may end up working out well for our team because the other guys really stepped up and they played great without him and it gave them some confidence.
Kelly Flagg
Additional Information
- Cooper Flagg’s mother, Kelly, played college basketball in Maine; she was a senior team captain.
- Cooper Flagg’s father, Ralph, played NJCAA basketball at Eastern Maine Community College.
- Cooper Flagg has a fraternal twin brother, Ace, who committed to play at Maine starting in the 2025-26 season. His older brother, Hunter, also played basketball for Nokomis.
